Margie Abbott
| Margie Abbott | |
|---|---|
| File:Margie Abbott at the Canberra Operation Slipper Welcome Home Ceremony in March 2015.jpg
Margie Abbott in 2015
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| Wife of former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott | |
| In office 18 September 2013 – 15 September 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Thérèse Rein |
| Succeeded by | Lucy Turnbull |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Margaret Veronica Aitken 1 February 1958 Lower Hutt, New Zealand |
| Spouse(s) | Tony Abbott (m. 1988–present) |
| Children | Bridget (born 1992), Frances (born 1994), Louise (born 1995) |
| Residence | Kirribilli House (2013-2015) |
| Alma mater | Wellington Teachers College |
| Occupation | Child care centre operator |
| Known for | Spouse of the former Prime Minister of Australia Tony Abbott |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Margaret Veronica "Margie" Abbott (born 1 February 1958)[1][2] is the wife of former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. She runs a childcare centre in Sydney.
Early life
Margaret Veronica Aitken was born in Hutt Hospital,[3] Lower Hutt, New Zealand to Max and Gail Aitken, and grew up in Wainuiomata. Both parents worked for the Post Office, Max as deputy chief postmaster of Wellington, and Gail as a typist.[4] She has a brother, Greg, a former private investigator.[4] The family has always been very sport-oriented; Max Aitken is a senior soccer administrator, and Margie played soccer and netball for a number of years.[4] She is a Catholic, like her husband.[5]
Max Aitken is a member of the New Zealand Labour Party and Gail is also a Labour voter.[4] There were pictures of Labour leaders in the kitchen of the family home.[6] Margie was also briefly a member of the Labour Party.[7][8]
Margie Aitken attended Fernlea School and Wainuiomata College,[3] where among other studies she took part in a pioneering Maori-language course.[4][8] At the age of 16, she entered teachers college in Wellington, and after graduation taught primary school in Upper Hutt and Wainuiomata. She taught Maori both there and later in Australia.[7] She later worked at a recruitment firm, and in 1983[8] followed her boss to Sydney, Australia when he sold the company. Her next career move was to the marketing department of Rothschild Australia, a merchant bank in Sydney.[citation needed]
Marriage to Tony Abbott
In 1988 while at Rothschilds, she met Tony Abbott at a Sydney pub. He was then a journalist with The Bulletin. He proposed after taking her on the Kokoda Track. They married at Riverview Chapel on 24 September 1988, and have since had three daughters.[9]
Current occupation
Abbott runs a community-based not-for-profit child care centre in St Ives, New South Wales [10] Sydney, which employs 10 staff and cares for children from around 100 families.[7][8] She continued as a director of the centre after her husband became prime minister.[11]
Personal views
In September 2013, Abbott said that, unlike her husband, she was open to discussion about gay marriage. She told the media "I suppose at the end of the day I think that love, commitment, are things that should be recognised and I think it's a conversation that Australia needs to have".[12] Margie Abbott was a member of the New Zealand Labour party before meeting Tony Abbott, as were her parents and extended family with exception of her young nephew, Simon Aitken, who is a National supporter.[13]
| Honorary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia 18 September 2013 – 15 September 2015 |
Succeeded by Lucy Turnbull |
References
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Sydney Morning Herald, 7 September 2013, "From a Kiwi Labour past to Tory Tony's first lady"; Retrieved 12 September 2013
- ↑ David Marr, Rudd v. Abbott; retrieved 12 September 2013.
- ↑ Anthony Hubbard, "Abbott earns a liberal dose of respect from a Labor-voting Kiwi connection", The Age, 7 September 2013, p. 6
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 New Zealand Herald, 8 September 2013, "New PM will have Kiwi at his side"; Retrieved 12 September 2013
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Speech by Margie Abbott, The Joy of an Ordinary Life; Retrieved 12 September 2013
- ↑ The Age, 25 March 2005, "The Abbott Paradox"; retrieved 12 September 2013
- ↑ http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/north-shore/margie-abbott-wife-of-pm-enjoys-family-fun-at-st-ives-occasional-care/story-fngr8h9d-1226757979321
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ http://www.liberal.org.au/margie-abbott-speech
